Jack assemblies are commonly used when performing various types of repair work on motor vehicles. A jack is used for supporting a portion of the weight of a vehicle, while one or more of the vehicle wheels are lifted from a ground surface, allowing access to replace tires, brakes, or other vehicle components. Many vehicles store a vehicle jack in a spare-tire well and the like for the purpose of replacement of a tire if the vehicle tire is damaged.
One problem that commonly occurs with jacks used in the replacement of vehicle components is that their use can be cumbersome and unsafe. For example, a manually rotated rod for translating force to the lifting components of the jack can have an undesirable engagement location and be of an insufficient length to accommodate comfortable and safe operation of the jack. In addition, current jacks can lack structural integrity and strengthening features to ensure operation of the jack is safe. Another problem common with jacks is that an additional or separate attachment component is needed to retain the jack in a stored position when the jack is not in use. These additional attachment components are an additional cost to vehicle manufacturers and consumers, and the attachment components can become lost throughout the life of the vehicle which can necessitate replacement parts or result in undesirable lack of storage capability.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved jack assembly which overcomes the aforementioned problems.